EYES TO THE SKIES FOR MARCH’S FULL “WORM” MOON! PLUS A TOTAL LUNAR ECLIPSE AKA A “BLOOD MOON”! 🔭💙🌕✨ - 13-14/03/25
On the evening of the 13th of March into the morning of the 14th, we will hopefully be treated to views of a beautiful full moon, weather permitting of course.
Although the full Moon may not be the astronomers or astrophotographers best of friends (unless you are wanting to observe/photograph the Moon!), the full Moon always makes for a beautiful sight in the night sky and is an important marker of the seasons for many people.
This year’s full Moon of the month of March will also be an extra special occasion as the Moon will completely enter the Earth’s shadow resulting in a total lunar eclipse (aka a “Blood Moon”)! We will be creating another separate post to detail this special event, so if you would like to know more about this March’s total lunar eclipse please look out for this post.
If you would like more information on this March’s full “Worm” Moon, including what a full moon is, why it is known as the Worm moon, when and where to look to find the moon, plus other celestial treats to look out for, please read on…
WHAT IS A FULL MOON?
A full Moon occurs when its position in its orbit around Earth is at its furthest distance from the Sun (almost on the opposite side of the Earth compared to the Sun). When this happens, the side of the Moon that can be seen from Earth is completely illuminated, giving it the appearance of being full.
THE WORM MOON
Often full Moon names derive their names from Native American traditions, which typically gave distinctions to the Moon based on the time of the year, the weathers relationship to crop harvests and the appearance of certain animals. The Native Americans would keep track of time by observing the seasons and Lunar months. These names were often passed down through the generations and these names were traditionally applied to refer to the entire lunar month.
March’s full Moon is often referred to by the name ‘The Worm Moon’. Some believe this name refers to the earthworms that appear as the soil warms in spring. Inviting the robins and other birds to feed—a true sign of spring!
However, more recently research has revealed another explanation. In the 1760s, Captain Jonathan Carver visited the Naudowessie (Dakota) and other Native American tribes and wrote that the name Worm Moon refers to a different sort of “worm” known as the beetle larvae, which begin to emerge from the thawing bark of trees and other winter hideouts at this time.
ALTERNATIVE MARCH MOON NAMES
There are quite a few names for the March Moon that speak to the transition from winter to spring.
Some refer to the appearance of certain animals, such as the Eagle Moon, Goose Moon (Algonquin, Cree), or Crow Comes Back Moon (Northern Ojibwe), while others refer to signs of the season. For example, ‘The Sugar Moon’ (Ojibwe) which marks the time of year when the sap of sugar maples starts to flow. ‘The Wind Strong Moon’ (Pueblo) refering to the strong windy days that come at this time of year and ‘The Sore Eyes Moon’ (Dakota, Lakota, Assiniboine) highlighting the blinding rays of sunlight that reflect off the melting snow of late winter.
March’s full Moon often plays a role in religion, too. Specifically, in Christianity, this Moon is known as the Lenten Moon if it is the last full Moon of the winter season (i.e., if it occurs before the spring equinox) or as the Paschal Full Moon if it is the first full Moon of spring (i.e., if it occurs after the spring equinox).
Two other names that seem to contradict each other are the Chaste Moon, and the Death Moon. Chaste, because March heralds the birth of spring, a time of newness and purity; and Death, because it may sometimes be the last full moon of winter.
WHEN AND WHERE WILL THE FULL MOON OCCUR?
This month the full Moon will reach max illumination (100% illuminated) in the early morning hours of the 14th of March. The Moon will rise in the early evening of March the 13th at roughly 17:16 towards East, it will then begin to climb higher in the sky travelling towards the South where it will reach its highest point in the sky at about 39 degrees high at around midnight 00:00. The Moon will then begin to descend towards the West where it will set at roughly 06:26 on the morning of the 14th of March.
Remember that you don’t really need to know the exactly when the Moon will be fully illuminated to enjoy viewing the full Moon, the Moon will appear full all throughout the night and on the nights surrounding the peak.
IN WHICH CONSTELLATION CAN THE MOON BE FOUND?
On the night of the 13th of March, our natural satellite can be found be hitching a ride in the zodiacal constellation of Leo the lion.
LUNAR OBSERVATION
The great thing about observing the Moon is that we don’t have to go and find a particularly dark location to view it. As the Moon is such a bright object in the sky, we can watch it from wherever we are, even from the centre of a heavily light polluted city. Weather permitting of course.
MOON RISE/SET – MOON ILLUSION
It's always lovely to watch the moon rise/set, so if you can head out to witness the moon rise, please do. Every time the moon rises it takes on a beautiful golden, amber colour and appears larger at this time too, due to an optical illusion known as the ‘Moon illusion’. It's truly special to witness. As it rises and glides overhead it’s colour will transition into a bright white.
Sometimes the Moon can appear even more orangey red than usual too! The hue of the moon typically depends on atmospheric conditions wherever you’re viewing it from. Things like clouds, dust, haze, smoke or pollution can cause the moon to appear different colours by scattering much of the blue light shining on to our natural satellite, leaving it with a more reddish tone.
OTHER CELESTIAL TREATS
There are many other celestial treats in our night skies at this moment in time, here is a small selection of amazing night sky sights to look out for:
- The beautiful open star cluster the Pleaides (aka the Seven Sisters) can be found in the zodiacal constellation of Taurus the bull very close by to the bright planet Jupiter.
- The amazing Andromeda Galaxy can be spotted to the eye as a small faint elliptical fuzzy in the constellation of Andromeda.
- We are still within the Aurora season and the Northern Lights may be seen dancing on our Northern horizons on nights of strong auroral activity. Typically, the bright Moon tends to wash the aurora out, however occasionally there are displays that are so strong they are visible despite the moonlight.
March is also a great time to spot the bright planets…
- The brilliantly bright planet Venus can currently be easily seen shining brightly at an impressive magnitude of -4.33 towards the West in the early evening around and after sunset. Venus will become visible towards the West just before the Sun sets at around 18:02, and will descend towards the West where it will set at around 19:57.
- March is also a great time to spot the often elusive planet Mercury. Scan the area of sky left of Venus with a pair of binoculars and you may be able to spot Mercury shining at a magnitude of 0.74. Mercury will set alongside Venus at around 19:45.
- The gas giant Jupiter will be visible in the constellation of Taurus and will become visible towards the Southwest shortly after Venus appears in the twilight sky. Jupiter will be easily visible, shining very brightly at magnitude -2.21. Jupiter will set in the Northwest at around 01:48.
- From nightfall, the red planet Mars can be spotted in the constellation of Gemini the twins. Mars will appear towards the SouthEast not long after Jupiter becomes visible. The red planet will climb in the sky travelling towards the South where it will reach its highest point in the sky about 60 degrees high at around 19:58. Mars will then begin to descend towards the Northwest where it will set in the morning twilight at roughly 04:50.
WHAT ELSE IS IN THE NIGHT SKY THROUGHOUT MARCH?
If you would like to know more about the rest of the celestial treats that can be seen throughout March, please head to our YouTube channel to watch our Night Sky Guide video for March 2025.
CLOSING WORDS FROM ASTRO DOG
This month’s full Worm Moon will be a beautiful sight, and the total lunar eclipse will make it an even more special occasion! So if you can, we recommend heading out to witness this March’s full Moon!
Clear skies 💖
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